


Magic Marco

by FallingStars5683, JoyHeart



Category: Star vs. The Forces Of Evil
Genre: Aged up characters, Angst, College AU, F/M, Feels, Funny, Memories, Memory Loss, Science Fiction, So much angst, Stripper AU, Stripper!Marco, Stripper!Tom, fandomfic wars submission, movie reel, star what the hell, two authors two genres one fic, we also have 2 ships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-08
Updated: 2017-10-10
Packaged: 2019-01-10 18:58:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12305598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallingStars5683/pseuds/FallingStars5683, https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoyHeart/pseuds/JoyHeart
Summary: (see notes for details on contest this fic is a submission for)Marco Diaz has been stripping his way through college, though keeping it a secret from his roommate and best friend Star Butterfly. That secret is put under pressure however, when his ex-girlfriend Jackie Lynn Thomas and Troublemaker-In-Chief Janna Ordonia show up unexpectedly to one of his shows!





	1. It's Getting Hot in Here (So Take Off All Your Clothes)

**Author's Note:**

> https://fandomficwars.tumblr.com/
> 
> This work is a submission for the fandomfic wars contest on tumblr. 2 authors. 2 genres. (In this case 2 ships). 1 story.  
> The rules are thus: There will be six chapters, each alternating between the authors. Each must use the setting and facts from the previous chapters to build on the story, but must force the story to fit their chosen genre and ship. No chapter can exceed 2000 words.
> 
> The combatants:  
> JoyHeart: Stripper AU, Jarco ship
> 
> FallingStars5683: Science Fiction, Starco ship.
> 
> LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

            For Marco Diaz, stripping was a natural conclusion to his myriad of talents. He was an attractive nineteen year old, with the grace of ballerina, the muscles and abs of a seasoned monster-hunter, and a sultry gaze that drove men and women wild. Also he could drop it like it was hot anytime any place. And he looked fucking hot in a fireman hat.

            Marco knew that his best friend and roommate Star Butterfly, a magical princess from another dimension, had been mostly joking when she suggested that Marco take up stripping to pay for his college education. But, Marco had been unable to stop thinking about it. As a physics major, Marco’s tuition and textbooks were extremely expensive. In this economy, letting everything be paid with student loans wasn’t practical, he didn’t want to be in debt forever! Most jobs would require him to work too many hours in order to at least pay his living expenses, with stripping he could work two nights a week for a few hours each and make more than enough to pay for at least his expenses and textbooks, so it made sense. He had a lot of shyness to work past at first, but honestly he had come a long way since middle school. Once he realised that everyone at the club found his body attractive he wasn’t afraid to show it off.

            Could anyone really fault him for being logical? That said, seeing as he knew the type of girl Star was (that is, one who would want to ‘visit him at work’ and ‘bring all his friends to also visit him at work’), Marco had been hiding his part-time job from his roommate for the last ten months he had been working there. Luckily, Star knew nothing about minimum wage or how long students usually spent working versus how much money they usually had, and Marco had a long history of randomly having money (although sales for Princess Marco merchandise had slowed considerably in recent years). Marco didn’t even tell Star he was working. He just said he was ‘in a study group’ and left it at that. Thank God Star wasn’t the type to have a study-anything. She just used magic to blatantly cheat on most of her exams and since she was a magical princess taking an arts degree they just sort of let her get away with it.

            Sometimes Marco wondered why Star was still on earth taking a college program when by all account she probably should have gone back to Mewni years ago, but it wasn’t like Marco was complaining. He loved his best friend after all! He didn’t want her to go… it was just weird. She was pretty evasive about answering his questions about it, too.

            Not that it mattered, because Marco was set up. He had money, an easy job, good grades, a fun roommate, and nothing could possibly go wrong.

            Until one Thursday night.

*

            _“Alright Ladies! Here comes a very special fireman. He might look like a tall drink of water, but he sure won’t quench the fire on stage, let’s hear it for MA-GIC MARCO!”_

The music ( _It’s Getting Hot in Here_ by Nelly) blared from the speakers Marco Diaz strode out onto the stage in a form-accentuating red fireman’s coat, twirling part of a long hose in his hand, a tiny plastic fireman’s helmet tied into his luscious brown hair. He winked at the screaming audience of women, and a few men, as he swung his hips around and slid the hose between his legs, encased in tight black spandex leggings, and ran it along the crack between his bulge and his thigh to give everyone a good eyeful before tossing it into the audience and dashing for the pole and using his strong biceps to climb it to the ceiling before slowly sliding down it with his thighs, shucking off his jack to reveal a tight tank top that showed off his mid-drift underneath, his pecks making his shirt bulge beneath bright sequinned letters proclaiming the words “HOT STUFF”.

            The screamed turned defining as he neared the ground and then twisted up again, this time holding on with only one arm as he toed out of his boot and let them drop, to be gather up by other sexily dressed boys from backstage who hurried to the edges of the stage with the boots to coax people into throwing tips into them.

            Meanwhile, Marco reached the top of the pole against and ripped his pants off (held together with Velcro for this purpose), and waved them like a flag before hanging them off his ankle and stretching himself out in a flag position. He grinned at the audience, working to make it all look effortless even as he worked up a healthy sweat. He shook his leg to let the pants fall to the floor, and slid once more down the pole.

            Now he broke out some of his favoured dance moves, sashaying and running his hands over his body, lifting the shirt just enough to let the people get a peek at his nipples as he strode out to the edge of the stage himself, bending down to his knees so the girls and boys could shove dollar bills into his thong-style underwear.

            He was really glad this club didn’t go full nude, however. Marco did not want anyone to ever find out how much he had to stuff his codpiece to fit the underwear the club provided.

            Just as Marco was about to get up and dance back to the curtain and bow, he found his blood run cold when he heard a familiar voice scream his name.

            Actually, two familiar voices.

            “WHAT? THAT’S REALLY MARCO DIAZ?!”

            “HEY! MARCO! MARCO  LOOK OVER HERE! NICE ABS! THEY’RE ALMOST AS CUTE AS YOUR BUTT!”

            Marco’s neck cracked with how fast his head to turned to see… Janna? And… and…

            Oh god it was Jackie Lynn Thomas. Here. At… at Marco’s strip club. Why? How? THEY WERE IN SAN FRANSCISO WHY WERE JANNA AND JACKIE THERE?! It was definitely them, though. Janna’s black beanie with the neon pink skull was unmistakable, and she had managed to find a leather jacket with the biggest shoulder pads possible to match it. She cut a clear figure in a crowd, and was alarmingly near where Marco was, grinning as the blood drained from his face and then rushed back full force right down his neck and chest was Jackie grinned at him, her hair now entirely blue and green to match her perfect aqua eyes and… oh no oh no oh no…

            Marco and Jackie had dated back in middle school, but after a bunch of conflicts with Star having a crush on him and everything else that had happened the same year, Marco and Jackie broke up. Things had stayed pretty awkward between them, but after things were sorted out with Star and the girl swore up and down she was no longer attracted to him, Marco had gone to Jackie and told her he was over her too. The awkwardness died down. They were decent friends after that.

            But it had been a lie. He never got over Jackie Lynn Thomas. He just said that to end the awkwardness. And now, seeing Jackie smiling at him… here of all places! Waving with Janna, oh god, what did she think of him now?

            “MARCO GET OFF THE STAGE!”

            Marco startled considerably at the sound of Tom Lucitor’s voice. He had been Star’s demon ex-boyfriend from before Marco met Star, later one of his best friends, and had sworn never to tell Star about the stripping if he could get Tom a gig stripping too. He was going on after Marco and… yep, Marco’s music had already faded out and Tom’s music (Death of a Bachelor by Panic! At the Disco) was already well under way.

            Blushing somehow harder, Marco ran off stage to the dressing room as Tom yelled at the music man into restarting his track. Once Marco was backstage, he found himself flying into an even worse panic. What were Jackie and Janna doing at the strip club? And how could one girl look so beautiful it made the rest of the room disappear? Oh god, this wasn’t fair at all!

            Marco moaned loudly and slammed his forehead against the mirror. He had to get changed for his second number. How was he going to get out there again?

            There was a knock on the door, and Marco was hesitant to answer. When he finally did, he found one of the burly bouncers standing on the other side, his beefy hands each wrapped around the upper arm of Janna and Jackie!

            “These two were caught sneaking backstage and said they know you, is that true?”

            “I… uh…” Marco looked from Jackie, who looked rather embarrassed, and Janna who looked… was looking down… Marco remembered he was still wearing the thong. He squeaked and covered himself. “I- yes, but, let me get some pants first!”

            “Why? It’s not like he didn’t just see you flaunt it in front of a hundred people,” Janna laughed as Marco ran to shove himself into his pants. When he turned back to the door, he saw the bouncer had left, and Janna and Jackie were watching him. Marco swallowed.

            “So uh, what brings you two to San Francisco?” Marco tried to ask casually as he leaned on his make up table… only to miss the table and nearly fall on the floor. He staggered a bit and steadied himself, brushing his hands off on his pants to make them less sweaty.

            “On vacation, I had called Star but she said you had a ‘study group’ tonight,” Janna said using air quotes and smirking. “What are you studying, exactly? Physical geometry?” She wouldn’t stop eyeing Marco up and down and off-stage, that was making him incredibly self-conscious.

            Jackie shook her head, but smiled a lot more genuinely. “I have to admit, you looked good up there, Marco. But… why did you tell Star you were studying?”

            Marco swallowed and ran a hand through his hair. “Well, you know Star, she doesn’t get why some things are more… that… I-I just don’t want her telling the whole school! Or… or coming to a show or something…”

            Janna hummed. “So… you don’t want Star to find out, huh?”

            “No, of course not!”

            Marco stared at Janna. Janna put out an empty hand. Marco sighed. “How much do you want?”

            “Fifty bucks.” Marco reached for his wallet. “Nu-uh, I want it from there.”

            Marco twitched at Janna’s pointing finger. “YOU CAN’T HAVE MONEY FROM MY UNDERWEAR!”

            “Ooh, I thought you didn’t want Star to know?”

            “Urgh… fine.”

            “I’m gonna get it myself!”

            “NO!”

            Marco couldn’t help but hear Jackie giggling as Janna wrestled Marco to get his underwear money, and Marco wondered vaguely if maybe, just maybe, his moves that seduced the crowd might have seduced Jackie back too?

            “Wow, you get tipped a lot. Probably because you stuff this thing.”

            “HEY, DON’T TOUCH THAT! And… and how do you know I stuff?”

            “Well, your dick is a lot shorter than this thing.”

            “How do you know how big… actually you know what? I don’t want to know. Ever.”


	2. The Times They Shared

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marco comes home from a stressful night to--you guessed it--more stress. One can only guess that's to be expected when your roommate is certifiable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I see you, JoyHeart. Here's the return volley.

This had to quite possibly the worst thing that could have happened, ever, at that club, and Marco had run through an extensive list of occupational hazards long before he had made up his mind to work there. The walk through the cold night back to the little apartment did not help his mood at all, even with the long parka he had over his normal clothes. He shivered a little as the snow drifted lazily downwards. At least the job was indoors.

Finally, _finally,_ he reached the front door to the small apartment complex and, upon seeing the OUT OF ORDER sign on the elevator, sluggishly made the trek up the stairs to the top floor. God, he was tired. He still couldn't believe Jackie of all people had shown up at that club. Janna, sure, he could see that, but Jackie? He wasn't sure what he would do if they showed up again, but--

There was green smoke drifting under his apartment door.

His job problems were temporarily thrown out the window as he ran to the (unlocked! Red flags!) door and threw it open, revealing his crazy roommate, Star Butterfly, standing at the little table in the kitchenette. " _What did you do this time we could get kicked out WHAT THE HELL IS THAT,_ " came Marco's rushed words as he took in the scene.

"Hi to you too!" Star wiped the sweat from her brow. She was working on what appeared to be some sort of steampunk-style contraption, with gears and odd buttons all over it, sitting on the table and leaving grease smears all over the perfectly good wood. "Well, my Art History professor was talking to us about old-style films, and how they were made, and it was really interesting, like she said you can record things that happen in your life and play them back! But then I got super-depressed because I've never recorded any of the super-cool stuff that's happened to us, so I thought hey! What if there was a movie projector that didn't need film, but _projected your own memories instead?_ And so here we are!"

The amount of brainpower it took to process this dump of information was almost beyond Marco's capabilities. Star paid attention in class? And, furthermore, she actually decided to try something productive with it? But what came out of his mouth was, "Wh-that's-how- _what??_ "

"I know, right? I'm a genius!" Star gave herself a little pat on the back. "I've just finished with the prototype, if you wanna try it!"

He gave a fervent, almost aggressive "NO."

"Suit yourself," she shrugged. "But I still need to test it anyways."

"No, you need to get it the hell out. This is nuts."

"You punched through an immortal lizard."

That was not even close to the same thing...but still pretty nuts. Dammit! "Alright, I'll bite. How is it supposed to work?"

"No idea! You just put on this headpiece and flip this switch...I think. Could be this one. But anyway, it shows anything that you think about!"

That was not reassuring in the least. "So, what you're saying is it's incredibly dangerous and risky." _Not like you have much room to talk, Mr. Pole Dancer,_ he thought to himself.

"Yep!" She picked up the thin lattice of wires--the headpiece. "Let's do it!"

"No, stop--!"

Too late. It was on her head, strapped under her chin, before he could stop her. A second passed. Then a minute.

"...Nothing's happening," Marco pointed out, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Hmm. Might need some adjusting. Wanna help out, Ma--" Star stopped dead, eyes unfocusing. Without warning, she dropped to the floor, completely unconscious.

" _Star!_ " He went to run to her side, but stopped at a spark from the machine. It sputtered once, twice, then came slowly to life, flashing pinpricks of light on the nearby wall. It almost looked like a film reel, but the picture was minuscule.

Marco stared for a moment, then, curiously, he scooted the table and Star away from the wall, propping her up on the floor under the counter. The result was a larger picture, about the size of a TV screen, flashing pictures against the wall. The picture was hazy at first, shapes barely discernible from the odd fog--scraps from Star's early life on Mewni.

"No way," he muttered to himself.

The pictures flashed by a little faster, until suddenly they sharpened to almost perfect clarity, resting on the face of a boy walking along down a hallway. "'Whatever you've heard about me isn't true,'" he heard his younger self say. His cheeks grew warm as moments from their shared life rolled by through Star's eyes, remembering them himself. _Hey, I remember the monster arm thing! Wow, she really worked hard to master that spell, didn't she? Damn, I really did sound like a total jerk after the Blood Moon Ball, didn't I? She really tried everything to bust down that closet door..._ It hit him that these memories were so clear because they all had him in it. She had felt so strongly about him from the moment they met, and those moments never got fuzzy, even as they moved into college. _She still likes me, doesn't she...?_

In that moment, his stomach tightened into knots, the way it always did when he tried to figure out his feelings for his best friend, but he made no move to stop watching the reel as the night slipped away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope those of you reading this enjoyed it. Not sure where this is gonna end up, but I hope you join us on the rest of this rollercoaster.
> 
> Follow us on Tumblr:  
> JoyHeart: anonymoustypewriter.tumblr.com  
> FallingStars5683: fallingstars5683.tumblr.com


	3. Hips Don't Lie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marco covers a shift for Tom, though this may be his undoing...

Marco awoke to the sound of his phone blaring Devil’s Child at around 11am. He scrambled for the device, very happy that he didn’t have his first class on Friday until 2. While Marco did not immediately understand why he was lying on the floor against the wall and wasn’t in bed, he blearily answered the phone before answering that conundrum.

            “ _MARCO! It’s Tom!”_

            “I know, you programed my phone to play that devil song when you call me.”

            “ _Oh yeah. Classic. Anyway, I can’t make it in to work tonight! My parents are making me go to this royal family retreat thing for royal families across different dimensions_.”

            “They still don’t know you’re moonlighting as a stripper on earth, huh?”

            “ _No, and it’s going to stay that way_.”

            “So I guess you want me to cover your shift? Why not just blow it off? It’s not like you need the money.”

            “ _Look, I just want to know that I COULD potentially make money and have a decent life on the off chance, you know, my parents decide to try to eat me instead of pass on the crown next year_.”

            “Oh right, ouch. You demons… really don’t mess around with that whole culture of violence thing.”

            “ _Urgh, I KNOW! It’s so irritating sometimes. I mean, I like a nice blood fountain and the screams of the innocent as much as anyone. But sometimes I’m like, MOM, did you have to rip the head off the pizza delivery guy? But she’s all about ‘making a point’… wait, what was the point of this call again_?”

            “Um, you need me to take your shift?”

            _“Right, right. So, can you?”_

            “I guess. Hey, if this is a royal retreat thing, shouldn’t Star be going?”

            There was a pause. _“I guess so? But she might blow it off anyway, you know Star.”_

            “Yeah I know…” Suddenly Marco remembered why he was on the floor. “STAR!”

            “ _What? What’s wrong with-”_ Tom’s voice cut off as Marco hung up and staggered to his feet, realising that the mind-projected slideshow wasn’t on the wall anymore. Then he noticed the snoring. He hurried over to where he had stashed Star, and found her fast asleep, the helmet still strapped to her head, but smoking slightly. It must have blown a fuse and shut off. He quickly unstrapped it and set it aside. Then he picked up Star’s wrist. Pulse was good. He opened one of her eyes and shined his phone light into it. It dilated fine, though Star only mumbled before turning in her sleep. Shaking his head and having no idea how long Star had been awake, Marco scooped her into his muscular arms and carried her to her extra-large magic-expanded bedroom (and oh man had Star’s parents paid out the nose for the apartment to ‘overlook’ that one). Marco dumped his friend into bed and sighed as he pulled the covers up around her. Honestly, he felt really bad for her. She obviously still liked Marco, and Marco just… didn’t feel the same way. He knew a lesser man would think something along the lines of, well, if things didn’t work with Jackie then at least he had a ‘back up’. But Marco wasn’t like that. He knew that Star deserved better than to be his backup plan. She deserved someone who loved her before anyone else. And while Marco did love Star… he knew it wasn’t the way she liked him.

            Well, that was all something to explore on a later day. Till then, Marco needed to make sure he was ready for class.

*

            All through his classes that day, Marco was doodling little stick figure choreography in the margins. By the time he was walking home, he felt pretty confident he had another winning routine in the works. He was not so sure he absorbed much of the material. Maybe he should join a real study group… He walked into the living room of his and Star’s apartment and made an incomprehensible noise when he found Star, Janna, and Jackie sitting on the couch and giggling as they flipped through some magazine…

            … was that an issue of Playgirl? Oh no. Marco tried to back out of the house again, but Janna, of course, spotted him.

            “Maaaaarco! Nice to see you! That study group can keep you busy, huh?” Janna called. Star looked up with a bright grin as usual.

            “Hey Marco! Thanks for taking me to bed last night! Did my machine work at all? It looks pretty broken now.”

            “Yeah, just… some childhood memories. It worked okay for a while, but you passed out?”

            “Huh, weird. Anyway, Jackie and Janna are going to be visiting for the weekend! They just sort of showed up!”

            “Yeah, hey Marco. Long time, no see?” Jackie smiled and shot Marco a wink, which of course brought a blush to his cheeks that he ran into the kitchen to hide.

            “So, um, how about some of my famous Marco’s Nachos?” Three cheers sealed that up, so Marco got to work.

*

            Marco managed to get to work by telling the girls he was going to hang out with Ferguson (he had no idea where Ferguson had been for years, but he had to stop Janna from trying to extort more money from him). He got to work and discovered that apparently, Tom hadn’t bothered to actually call in to work to tell them Marco was coming instead.

            That was very bad in this profession. The lights and music cues were already set up for Tom’s routine! The manager of the club started a long barrage of swearing before shoving Marco into the dressing room and telling him he was going to just have to wear what Tom was going to, and will go out to his song. Choreography be damned, he’d improvise!

            Marco did not like improvising on stage. Not to mention the fact that Tom was a lot skinnier than he was, and his clothes would definitely not fit him. Let a strip tease, more of a… partial nudist dance. He took a quick look at the posted set list to find out what Tom was even dancing to.

            Hips Don’t Lie by Shakira?

            Oh HELL no. Marco glared, grabbed his phone, and dialled Tom’s number.

            “Tom? It’s Marco.”

            “ _Hmm? Hey Marco, what’s up_?”

            “Did you pick this music for tonight?”

            “ _What? No, no the manager picked it, said she wanted me to go a new direction. Phht._ ”

            “Tom… is that Mortal Kombat music?”

            “ _Uh… no…_ ” Tom said carefully as ‘FINISH HIM’ played in the background.

            “IT IS! Tom, you just wanted me to take your shift so you wouldn’t have to dance to Shakira! There’s no royal retreat at all, is there?”

            “ _You look better in a skirt anyway, Marco!_ ”

            “We both look equally good in skirts! We look amazing in skirts! You just don’t like Shakira because Justin Towers said she was overrated! Justin Towers doesn’t know everything, Tom!”

            “ _Justin Towers changed my life_!”

            “Aaah… I don’t have time for this. Fine, but you DEFINITELY owe me one!”

            “ _Thank you, Marco_!”

            “Yeesh.” Marco hung up and buried his face in his hands for a minute before getting up and going see if he could squeeze into Tom’s outfit.

*

            Star had a brilliant idea! It was so much fun looking at those Playgirl magazines with Janna and Jackie, they should all go out to a male strip club as part of girls’ night! Jackie seemed a touch hesitant at the suggestion, but Janna was all for it, she said she knew the perfect place and everything!

             The club itself was on the higher end of these sort of establishments. There was a chandelier and everything! Star was smitten, and ready for the party! They managed to get right up to the stage via Janna’s wiles and a little magic. The first few acts were great, though Janna suddenly started elbowing her in the side as the music started for the fourth. It was a Shakira song! Star LOVED Shakira. Her hips did not lie, and Star appreciates hips with a sense of honesty.

            “Okay, watch this guy and tell me if he looks familiar!” Janna grinned and as the man came from behind the curtain, clad in a way-too-tight and wide open gold jack and also an uncomfortably tight looking skirt. His hips were gyrating well though. And looked… familiar… Star’s eyes trailed up to the face and she gasped.

            “M-Marco?”

            “Marco? No, it’s To- it’s not Tom.” Janna laughed awkwardly. “Ah… whoops? I thought I read that set list correctly…”

            “WHY IS MARCO STRIPPING?! He looks good though… But what’s going on? Why didn’t he tell me?! MARCO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING UP THERE?!”

            Marco froze halfway to the stripper pole and the crowd began to chatter as he turned to look at Star with wide eyes. “S-Star?” He then looked to her left and right. “Jackie? JANNA YOU SAID YOU WOULDN’T TELL HER ABOUT THIS!”

            “I DIDN’T KNOW YOU WORKED TONIGHT!”

            The crowd was starting to boo and demand Marco start to dance again. Wincing as his manager threw a show at him from backstage, Marco began to gyrate again as he hissed angrily at his friends.

            “You had one job, Janna!” Marco scolded.

            “I know! But Star wanted to go to a strip club, and you said last night you weren’t working tonight so-“

            “I was called in! Why would you even think to do this?”

            Jackie piped in. “Uh, if it’s any consolation, you look really good!”

            “TAKE IT OFF!” Shrieked a few voices from the back. Marco groaned and took off his top, tossing it aside.

            “Now-“

            “TAKE IT OFF!” Marco rolled his eyes and lost the skirt, now just in a speedo.

            “Look, I’m sorry Star, I just didn’t want everyone to know I was doing this and, well, you-“

            “TAKE IT OFF!”

            “FINE!” Marco ripped off the speedo, looking absolutely peeved as he threw it at the audience. “Star, I knew you’d tell everyone if you knew, and… and I didn’t want you to see me like this!”

            “Why not, Marco?”

            “M-Marco…” Jackie’s eyes were bulging as they glued to one now very visible part of Marco’s body as the rest of the audience hooted their approval.

            “Because… because…” Marco swallowed hard.

            “YOUR HIPS MIGHT NOT LIE, BUT YOUR MOUTH SURE DOES, MARCO DIAZ!”

“STAR!” Marco yelled as Star turned on her heel and ran. Janna shook a fist at Marco and ran after her. Marco looked about to chase too, but was stopped from jumping into the crowd by his angry manager who was pulling him back, covering his junk to the booing of the crowd, and reminding him that this wasn’t a full nude club. Once he was forced backstage, Marco pulled on her jeans and sweater in record time and hurried to chase Star down, only to find Jackie waiting just outside the club. She grabbed his hand.

            “Janna took Star home. She’s really upset, dude. You could have handled that better.”

            Marco winced. “I-I know. I guess things have just been kind of messed up the last couple of days. I’ll fix it.” Marco looked down at where Jackie’s hand was holding his. “Uh…” He looked back up and Jackie was biting her lip. Suddenly, he had his arms full of a very pretty girl who was doing her best to kiss the life out of him. Marco moaned a little into the kiss, and when Jackie suddenly drew back, Marco had a goofy smile on. “J-Jackie…”

            “I shouldn’t have done that! You’re worried about Star, I just… I don’t know, seeing you, talking to you, I guess I just… I know you don’t like me anymore, but I-“

            “Jackie...” Marco pulled Jackie back in. The two kissed passionately in the dark outside the strip club, Star quickly being forgotten.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back to you, FallingStars!


	4. Only the Brokenhearted Keep Their Burdens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An attempt at an apology goes horribly wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, it is ON.
> 
> Time to bring out Stage 1 of my ULTIMATE WEAPON!!!

Marco wanted to leave immediately to set thing right, but--silly him!--he still had his own damn set to do. Luckily it was to one of his favorites (Gasolina by Daddy Yankee), so he had no problem getting through it. The instant his shift was over, he grabbed everything and bolted out of the door into the snow, determined to not let this sit. He refused to have a repeat of the Summer Party Incident.

He made it back to the complex in record time, disregarded the front desk completely, and took the steps three at a time, not wanting to lose any chance of speaking with Star before she shut him out. He was completely winded when he reached the top, but he managed to brush it off as he ran to his door (again, unlocked). However, he wasn't a total idiot, so the door opened gently and he took a peek inside. "Star?" he called.

The door was quite violently ripped from his hands, and he yelped as he lost his balance. However, it wasn't Star that answered the door like he had hoped, but Janna. He had never seen her look this mad before. No, that wasn't quite it. More like disappointed. Despite this, she did give a little nod before moving aside. "I assume you're here to apologize. Good. She just went to her room."

"Thank you so much, Janna," Marco said, picking himself up off the floor.

"Don't thank me," she replied. "I'm just the gatekeeper. Your real challenge is up ahead."

He nodded again, gave her a little hug, and carefully made his way into the apartment. Before Janna closed the door to leave, he heard her whisper, "Good luck, idiot."

It wasn't easy getting through across the dirty floor, mainly because it shouldn't have been that dirty. Bits of plastic and metal coated the carpet and left scratches in the tile in the kitchenette, and when he saw a small gear in a corner, he realized with a start that they were pieces of the memory reel player. Star had smashed it so horribly that there was no hope of ever fixing it. It broke his heart, in a strange way. She had worked so hard to build it for them so they could relive those precious memories, and he had fucked everything up again so badly that she destroyed it. The sight of it just strengthened his resolve, and he marched purposefully to her bedroom door.

But try as he might, he just couldn't bring himself to knock on the door. What was he going to say? _I'm sorry I didn't tell you that I flaunt my body in order to pay for college, and then when the proof was right in front of you, I lied about it anyway?_

Actually, that didn't sound too bad.

_Okay,_ he thought. _Let's do this._

He opened the door.

The sight that greeted him was not what he had prepared for. He had expected her to be laying in bed, quietly, possibly crying, possibly snoring. What he did not expect was her sitting cross-legged on the floor, bending over a brand new machine, this one no larger than a corgi, attached by wires to an even smaller stylus-like object in her hand. She muttered furiously to herself, her words drowned out by the song emanating from the jukebox behind her.

_You're only happy when your sorry head is filled with dope_

"Star, we need to talk."

"No, we don't."

"Yes, we do. This can't sit and fester. Remember what happened the last time we didn't talk about our feelings right away?"

No response. He took that to mean yes.

_You're dripping like a saturated sunrise_

"It won't help, Marco. We both know that." Star slammed a latch shut on the body of the device. "The truth is, you don't trust me enough to tell me what's going on in your life, and that's fine. Although, if you were having money problems, like I suspect you were, then I don't see why you couldn't have just asked my family about it. Celestials above know that you've done enough for us that they wouldn't have hesitated."

This...was true. Then he wouldn't have had to resort to this ridiculous night job. But--"I couldn't ask your family to do something like that! That's too much on them!"

"Is it?" She raised an eyebrow. "We pay for everything in gold. Here, our pocket change could put six people through college and grad school."

And she had him again.

"No more excuses, Marco."

He thought for a moment. "I'm sorry. I just...wanted to figure it out on my own. Without relying on others to help me. I couldn't grow as a person if I didn't struggle through it myself."

She gave a dry chuckle. "Do you even listen to me? I just told you why I'm actually angry, and you still haven't gotten it."

_You're spilling like an overflowing sink_

"You don't trust me, Marco! We've been friends for five years now, and you still don't trust me enough to at least tell me that you're struggling to do anything! You refuse to let me help you, like a real friend! You don't talk to me anymore!"

He couldn't speak.

_But you touched me, and suddenly, I was a lilac sky_

"It's like...you forgot I was your friend. Like I existed, really."

He could barely breathe.

_And you decided purple just wasn't for you_

"So, if that's how you want it, fine." She turned on the machine, creating a faint hum, and held up the stylus part for him to see. "I'll forget about you, too."

Then, as if he were jolted back to reality, Marco realized just what those words meant, and dove for her. " _Star, no--!!_ "

But it was too late. She pressed the end of the stylus to her forehead, there was a zap, and she slumped, almost hitting the floor if Marco hadn't reached her in time to catch her.

"Star?!" He shouted frantically. "Star, please, wake up!"

Her eyelids fluttered a little, and she opened her eyes. He held his breath, waiting...

"I'm sorry, sir, but...who are you?"

And that was it. Marco couldn't take it. He just clutched the bewildered girl to his chest and openly wept.

_Everything is grey, his hair, his smoke, his dreams,_  
And now he's so devoid of color he don't know what it means  
And he's blue, and he's blue  
Everything is blue 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bring it, JoyHeart!
> 
> (also ABUELITA IS COMING)
> 
> ((Fun fact: I was listening to Colors by Halsey [the song featured] while writing this, and immediately after that song was I'm From Another Dimension. I looked at my phone when it happened like, _Spotify, BLESS._ ))
> 
> Follow us:  
> JoyHeart: anonymoustypewriter.tumblr.com  
> FallingStars5683: fallingstars5683.tumblr.com


	5. Remember Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marco tries to help Star with the time honoured tradition of taking one's clothes off to music.
> 
> It works as well as one might expect.

It didn’t take long to realise that Star had done more than remove her memories of Marco. Star had removed every memories from the last five years. Which made sense, Marco was with her nearly constantly for those five years. Removing him from her memories alone would have just left her in a confused haze.

            “Cool room! Is this Earth? I got to say, you earthlings have taste in decorating!”

            “Er, y-yeah?” Marco said, wiping away a stray tear, Star wandering around her own bedroom.

            “Well, if mom wants me to do my magical training here, I guess this won’t be so bad! Anyway, I’m Star Butterfly! A magical princess from another dimension!” Star said, twirling her wand and making a huge rainbow appear behind her. Marco swallowed, hard.

            “I… I know who you are, Star. I’m Marco. Marco Diaz? Your roommate and best friend?”

            “Best friend? Phht, Pony Head is my best friend! But tell you what, you can be my best friend on Earth! That okay?”

            “It… Star, how old are you?”

            “Fourteen! Oh, yeah, you look way older! I’m pretty sure it’s weird for us to be sharing a room, don’t you think? Ooh, not that I’m complaining, you’re definitely nice to look at!” Star winked and Marco swallowed uncomfortably. He sighed and pointed to the wall.

            “Star, look in the mirror.”

            “Uh, okay Mr. Weird Guy.” Star walked to the mirror. Then she froze. She ran a hand through her hair, then down her sides. “Uh… Marco was it? I uh. I seem to have. Boobs.”

            “Um. Yep.”

            “And… and hips.”

            “Uh-huh.”

            “Fourteen year olds do not look like this.”

            “Nope.”

            “Oh my gosh, DID I ACCIDENTALLY MAGIC MYSELF TO NINETEEN?!”

            “No you-“

            “Cause if I did, THAT’S SO COOL!”

            “No, no, Star wait! You didn’t magic yourself older you… you built a machine to take away your memories from the past five years.”

            Star stared at him for a moment, seemingly very confused, and then laughed. “HA! Good one, Marco. ‘Built a machine’! Why would I do that when I could just use, you know, MAGIC?”

            “You like building things now, it’s sort of a new hobby for you.”

            “Well, why would I erase my memory of five years?”

            “Um, I don’t think you intended to lose five years. You were specifically trying to forget, uh, me…” Marco winced, but he learned his lesson. Don’t lie to Star.

            “You? Why would I want to forget you unless…” Star narrowed her eyes. “Are you another ex-boyfriend? Cause I already have one evil ex-boyfriend, and I don’t need any more!”

            “No, no, we never dated!” Marco said quickly, “In fact, uh, I think I just got back together with my own ex, Jackie, so… uh, Star, are you okay?”

            “Yeah, I’m fine, why?”

            “You, uh, there’s tears running down your cheeks?”

            Star touched her cheek and looked at the wetness on her hand with confusion. “Huh, what’s this about?”

            “Wait, if… if hearing about Jackie makes you cry, then… maybe those memories are still in you somewhere?” Marco grabbed Star’s shoulders. “Look at me in the eyes. Try to remember me, Star. We lived together for five years, first with my parents, then in this apartment. We are nachos, and fought monsters, and had school-related hijinks. You can’t just let that all go away! Our memories together were so important that you built a machine to remember them all!”

            Star at least could tell that Marco was being serious. She sighed, then squinted into Marco’s eyes, shaking and sweating in concentration for a moment before giving up. “Hey, I’m sorry but… nothing’s coming. But… if we have so much history… why did I want to forget you then? What did you do?”

            “I…” Marco sighed. “Well, I lied to you. I’m… I’ve been working at a strip club, and I didn’t tell you. You were really upset about it, because I didn’t trust you.”

            Star stared at Marco. “We’ve apparently been friends for five years and you didn’t trust me enough to tell me you dance naked for a living?”

            “Well, uh, only mostly naked?” Marco gulped at Star’s glare.

            “How can I even believe that? You, a stripper? You got the body, but you don’t have the presence for that kind of profession!”

            “I’m serious! I’m a stripper!”

            “Well, I guess there’s only way to prove that.”

            “What?”

            Star grabbed her wand from… somewhere, and pointed it at the ceiling. A glorious, sparkling stripper pole descended, locked into the floor, and Marco’s jaw dropped.

            “You don’t mean…”

            “That’s right. If you’re telling me the truth, you’ll have no problem doing a strip tease right here, right now.”

            “Uh…” Marco looked very uncomfortable at this prospect. “I-I’m not wearing any special stripper underwear or anything! And… and… isn’t this super weird if you’re mentally fourteen?”

            “I’LL BE PARENTAL SUPERVISION!”

            “Janna!” Marco shrieked as Janna ran into the room. Star looked at her quizzically.

            “Uh, who the heck is this?”

            “Only the best person you will ever meet. Also a witch. And… a vampire gremlin.”

            “Ooh, cool!” Star said, nodding along.

            “Janna, quit lying to Star, she’s dealing with stuff,” Marco glared.

            “Shut up Marco, you’re the one who lied about being a stripper.” Janna rolled her eyes as she sat on Star’s bed.

            “AH HA! I knew you were lying about being a stripper!”

            “No, she just means I lied about being a stripper by saying I WASN’T a stripper.” Marco paused and thought for a second. “Well, actually, I lied by saying I was going to study groups when I was actually stripping.”

            “WHATEVER BOY! JUST STRIP!” Janna yelled.

            “YEAH! PROVE YOU’RE NOT A LIAR, RANDOM BOY I DON’T KNOW!”

            Marco groaned loudly. “Fine.” He pulled out his phone, cued up a fitting track from Spotify (they have music for every occasion after all) and soon Zendaya’s “Remember Me” was playing on his phone’s tinny speakers. Slowly, Marco closed his eyes and swayed to the music, lowering his ass to the floor and back as he let the beat consume him, and worked to ignore Janna’s wolf whistling.

            _I wish we could do it over again, every smile, every tear, every part_

_Cause I know nothing ever will end if it’s safe inside our hearts_

            Marco followed the beat as he slipped off his sweater, tossing it to the side and grabbing the pole. He rubbed his chest down it, sweat slicking the way as he turned dramatically in time for the chorus and flung his head back to show off the column of his neck.

            _Remember me, and I’ll be there, remember me when you feel lost somewhere_

_And I know with just one magic touch it can all reappear_

            Marco now climbed the pole hand over hand, spinning slowly as he realised his pants were not tear-away. Instead, he jumped from the pole halfway up, rolling as he hit the ground, and slid down his jeans, his black briefs clinging to him as he crawled on the floor toward Star’s feet. She was blushing as he mouthed the words to the song.

            _But in my heart, I’ll carry you with me. Whatever you do, remember me and I’ll remember you_

            Marco then rolled away, back to the pole where he climbed again to the top, clinging with elbow and knee to slowly spin down again, still mouthing the words as he spun.

            _So many new days up ahead, and I’m excited to see all of them. But please don’t forget about this time, just close your eyes and…_

Marco looked into Star’s eyes as he reached the ground, bending to one knee, legs spread wide to show off his briefs and abs, just as a professional stripper should always work to do. Star’s cheek hearts were glowing. That had to be good, right?

            _Remember me, and I’ll be there. Remember me, when you feel lost somewhere. And I know with just one magic touch, it can all reappear. Whenever you need a good memory, remember me._

_Whenever you need a good memory, remember me_

            The song faded out, and the next song- Loituma Girl- started to play. Marco’s eye twitched, but he stared at Star and her glowing cheeks.

            “Uh, well,” Star cleared her throat, “I… believe you’re a stripper… now…” Star frowned. “But I still don’t remember anything.”

            “OH COME ON!” Marco yelled at the ceiling while Janna looked like she was going to pass out from laughing. Great. Just perfect.

            Just then, Marco’s phone buzzed, interrupting the inappropriate music playing. Marco picked it up and quickly answered. “Jackie, hi! Um, not the best timing but- no, no, don’t hang up! Yeah sure, sure, we can totally go out for drinks tomorrow! Yeah, I think- woah, yeah, no for real, it’s official! Oh… oh yeah that makes sense. Okay, bye!” Marco hung up the phone and beamed at Janna and Star like he had forgotten all his problems. “Jackie said we’re officially back together! Also she said she’s staying with someone else tonight since… it’d be awkward… here. Oh.” Marco looked at Star worriedly, but she was swinging her legs just looking confused.

            Right. She didn’t remember liking him!

            She… didn’t remember anything. Right. And… well, stripping hadn’t fixed this problem, though it might have gotten him his ex-girlfriend back.

            “So… if you taking your clothes off didn’t fix Star’s memory… what will?” Janna asked, now looking at least somewhat concerned.

            “I… I don’t know,” Marco said, shoulders slumping. “I’m going to call Star’s parents on her mirror, I guess.”

            “Oh yeah, you do that,” Janna smirked. Marco walked to the mirror and called for the King and Queen of Mewni to answer.

            After ringing a moment or two, the queen answered, looking severe as always.

            “Yes, Star what is it? I’m very busy… Marco? What… uh…” The queen’s jaw dropped and her eyes bulged. Marco looked down, realized he was still in his briefs, and shrieked.

            “I-I’M SO SORRY YOUR MAJESTY!” He wailed, running to grab his clothes as Janna laughed her ass off and Star ran to the mirror to greet her mom (who she luckily DID remember). Why did this stuff always happen to him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright that's it for me! Bring us home, Fallingstars!


	6. Would You Mind?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Memories are hard to work to attain-in more than one way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And it's the end! Enjoy!

Marco needed clothes. Like, yesterday.

As he tugged on a pair of sweatpants in his room, he tried to think rationally about the situation, though that was hard, considering the situation itself. What could he possibly use to jolt Star's memory? Obviously just his body wasn't enough, as was evident, and it would take a while before he was ready to face her parents again, holy crap. There had to be some way to jumpstart her neural processes. There was no way it was completely damaged, just frozen, right? She still had all of her senses, and everything else seemed to be working fine, so there couldn't be any brain damage--at least not permanent. So the brain just needed a bit of a mental push.

The question was, what would that be?

Needing a bit of a mental break, he walked out of his room and past the door to Star's, where he glimpsed her and Janna dancing wildly to something that had come on the Spotify playlist still running: _Take me on a trip, I'd like to go someday / Take me to New York, I'd love to see L.A. / I really want to, come kick it with you / You'll be my American Boy, American Boy_

Somehow, the lyrics hurt a little, so he tried not to dwell on it too much. He moved into the living room, still littered with debris from the dead memory player. Looks like it wouldn't have been getting any more use anyway. He picked up a stray gear, still shining like it was just made yesterday. He wished he could be just made yesterday; just start over so that he wouldn't have these vivid memories of someone that wouldn't ever again know who was. The tears threatened to overflow again, choking him--and then it hit him.

The memory player.

That's it.

He looked around at the pieces on the floor. They almost all still appeared intact, with the exception of some of the plastic supports. If he could gather the pieces--put them back together and do the one thing he always seemed to fail at--he might stand a chance.

"It's time I actually take a risk for the first time in forever."

~o~o~o~o~

Six months.

It had been six months since Marco had gathered the pieces of the broken machine. Six months since he had upped his hours at the club just to cover the expense of extra parts. Four months since Jackie started helping him and Janna repair it. Three since Tom found out through the girls and upped his hours, too. All four of them were working their absolute hardest to help Star, and thanks to some books on engineering and human cognition Janna managed to track down, they were actually improving it, hopefully, so that it wouldn't shut down the mind of whoever was wearing it.

Because Marco wanted to see her face when it worked.

_When,_ he told himself constantly, _not if. I have to believe this will work._

And now, today was the day. It took six months for them to replicate and build upon the design for a machine Star had built in less than a day. The device looked sleeker, less steampunk, with a metallic casing and a more focused lens. The headpiece was thinner, resembling a circlet, ending at the temples and adjustable to fit anyone's head.

"Damn," Tom said, stepping back from their handiwork, hand on his hip. "How the hell did she do it? This was ridiculous!"

"It was worth it, though," Jackie said. The others nodded in agreement.

"So, are we sure this will work the way we want it to?" Janna said, expressing caution for the first time in her life, probably.

"It should," Tom replied. "From what I can tell, the original prototype worked by redirecting the brain's central cognition, shutting off all functions not vital related to the task at hand--like, you know, everything--and routing all possible power to the precognitive cortex, where it was then channeled and aided by the electromagnetic field emitted by the headpiece to create the image we see on the wall through the projector. I don't know everything behind it, but I tried to adjust the power converter so that, instead of just working off of the brain's supply, it instead first floods the brain with excess power and draws off of that to make the images, leaving plenty of energy for the rest of the brain to carry out normal functions. The user should still be able to interact perfectly well with their surroundings during the show."

The others stared. "How the hell do you know all that?!!" Marco demanded.

Tom blushed. "Sorry...self-teaching. I get bored."

Jackie volunteered to try to carry the thing to Star's room, but the improved model was significantly heavier than its predecessor, so Marco carried it instead, lifting it gently from his girlfriend's hands. They carefully opened the door to Star's room, wary because her mind had pretty much reverted, so she was just as unpredictable as she had been before they had met her.

Star was propped up on her bed, seemingly passive, a couple of narwhals floating lazily through the air. She looked up when the others came in. "Oh, hi, guys! You here to hang out some more? This is pretty cool, you guys bein' here, tryin' to help me with this problem. I don't really know any of-- _oh._ " The contempt in her voice at the sight of Tom was unmistakable. "Does he have to be here?"

"Listen, princess, I'm here to help, so you can zip it." Tom shut her down before she could even get started. _Savage, Tom,_ Marco thought.

Star zipped it. For about two seconds. Then she saw the memory player. "What's that? Can it kill things?"

Jackie smiled knowingly. "No, Star, it's not a weapon. If you wear it, you can see your own memories."

Star thought about that for a moment. "I can't use it, though. I don't have memories to play."

"You're not going to use it, Star," Marco said softly. "We are. If you see our memories of you, you might remember yourself. Would you mind if we tried?"

"Go ahead," she said, smiling. "Captain giving permission!"

Marco smiled. Same old Star, huh?

~o~o~o~o~o~

Five hours later, when they had run through everyone's heads (and Tom's adjusted headpiece meant everyone could be awake for their highlight reel, though there was a slight lingering headache), the others returned to their apartments, dejected. The treatment didn't seem to work. Jackie had left with a quick kiss. "Take care of her, okay? She needs you," she had said, as if Marco needed reminding.

Now he sat on the floor at the foot of her bed, listening to Star sing some little song under her breath. There hadn't been a moment of clarity, no spark. She hadn't immediately say their names and jump into their warm embraces. There were no tears shed, no happy smiles. They had failed.

Marco let his mind wander uselessly. The little song seemed to echo in his head, triggering a memory...

_"Carefully we'll place for our destiny..."_

He...he remembered this song. He _knew_ this song. It was a song that...

_"You came and you took this heart and set it free..."_

"...Star?" He said, softly, not daring to believe it. "This song..."

_"Every word you write or sing is so warm to me, so warm to me--"_

_"I'm torn, I'm torn to be right where you are."_ Marco finished the line, looking Star right in the eyes. "You remember?"

Star screwed up her face in concentration. "I remember...singing that song. Where exactly is fuzzy, but I remember someone being with me, singing it."

"It was when we were sixteen. You wanted to do the talent show, but you wanted me to do it with you because I was scared. We sang that song--"

"--because you could play the guitar." Star looked almost hopeful. "We got a prize, I think it was--"

"--third place. You got mad because you thought--"

"--you deserved a better score than that. I thought your playing was--"

"--absolutely magical." For the first time that night, Marco gave a genuine smile. "It's coming back, Star! In little pieces, sure, but you're starting to break your barrier!"

And they laughed and jumped up and danced around for an hour, even without music. They were just so happy.

Finally, they flopped onto the floor. Star laughed and laughed, and Marco just beamed, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. His starlight was starting to shine again.

He asked her, "Do you remember anything else?"

"Only scraps. Including why I did what I did in the first place."

_Oh._ Marco gulped nervously.

"But I've decided to forgive you. You were only doing what you thought would be best for your own education, and while my anger was warranted, my drama wasn't." She looked at him. "I'm sorry, man."

"Hey, it's okay. We're okay, and still here, and we'll still be friends."

She wiped her nose. "I also remember Jackie."

And the nervousness returned full force. How did she do that, make his emotions go haywire like that?

"I remember that she's sweet, cool, funny, kind, and an absolute best girl to be with." She brushed the loose hair out of her eyes. "I'm not going to try to get in the way of you and Jackie."

"Wait, you're not upset?"

"Of course I'm upset," she replied, smiling. "I still love you a little. But I also see that you're happy with her, and because I value your happiness, I won't stand in the way of your own decisions."

"I...whoa."

"Yeah." Then it hit her. "Oh my God, was that the whole conversation? We could've just said all that at fourteen!"

"No way! That was so easy!"

"Seriously!" She gave a little lopsided grin. "But it helps that I'm not afraid anymore, _I'm not afraid._ "

Marco laughed. Once more, as a promise to each other as friends, they sang the song.

_Forever is a long time,_   
_But I wouldn't mind spending it by your side_   
_Tell me every day I get to wake up to that smile_   
_I wouldn't mind it at all_   
_I wouldn't mind it at all_

 

~fin.~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this crazy little story. I'm really glad I got to bring the ending in, personally! If you guys want more battles visit the fandomficwars Tumblr page and just send them an ask! They'll sign you up right away!
> 
> Long live Starco! Long live Jarco!
> 
> Follow us:  
> JoyHeart - anonymoustypewriter.tumblr.com  
> FallingStars5683 - fallingstars5683.tumblr.com


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